Apparatus for heading kafir corn, &amp;c.



T. H. SPARKS.

APPARATUS FOR HEADING KAFIR 001m, &o.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 16, 1912.

Patented July 9, 1912.

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APPARATUS FOR HBADING KAFIR CORN, 6w.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.16,191&

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APPARATUS FOR HEADING KAFIR CORN, 85o.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1912.

Application filed. January 16, 1912. Serial No. 671,425. A

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS H. Srnnns, acitizen of the United States, residing at Wichita, in the county ofSedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and. usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Heading Kafir Corn, &c.; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This inventlon relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus forheadlng -Kafir corn and the object in view is to generally improve uponand render more effi cient this type of apparatus and to improve uponthe construction of apparatus of similar nature which is covered byLetters Patent No. 855,819, granted to me June 4, 1907.

The invention comprises various details of construction and combinationsand ar rangements of parts which will be hereinafter fully described,shown in the accompanying drawings and then specifically defined in theappended claims.

1 illustrate my invention in the accom panying drawings, in which Figurel is a top plan view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3is a detail perspective view of the cutting knives. F ig. 3 is a detailperspective View showing a cutting blade held in one of its adjustedpositions. Fig. 4t is a sectional view on line H of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1. 4

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, Adesignates a table having a vertically disposed wing A designed to fitover the edge of a wagon to which the apparatus is to be attached. Saidtable has upon its under surface braces B and B, bolted or otherwisesecured thereto. Fastened to the marginal edge of said table is anangled bar D, one arm of the bar forming a flange across the rear endand the long arm of the angled bar extending parallel to the edge of thetable and spaced apart therefrom and adapted to carry the adjustablecutting knife E which is held upon the horizontally disposed portion ofthe long arm of the angle bar by means of bolts E which pass throughregistering slots in the knife and said bar. A reinforcing angle bar,designated by letter F, is fastened to the marginal edge of the tableparallel to said long arm and said angle bar F is bent to form a shortarm F which is fastened to the under surface of the long arm of the barD.

The brace B, above referred to, passes through registering slots G and Gformed in the arms of the curved angle bar F, and the end of the bar Bis held by means of bolts or other suitable fastening means to the undersurface of the long arm of the angle bar D. Said brace B is held againstthe bottom of the plate H, which is fastened to the upper surface of thehorizontally disposed portion of the long arm of the bar D, and also toa flange of the bar F, wlilch is secured to the upper surface of the tae.

A bracket arm I is fastened to the brace B and passes over the marginaledge of the curved angle bar F to which it is bolted or otherwisefastened and its end is secured to the under surface of the brace B at alocation intermediate the two arms of the angle bar F, as shown clearlyin the cross sectional View of the drawings. By this means, it will benoted that the parts which carry the knives will be securely braced andheld rigidly. A similar bracket arm J is fastened at its lower end tothe upright portion of the brace B and its other end fastened to theupper end of the brace B near the long arm of the curved angle bar F.

Secured to the flange of the long arm of the angle bar F is a plate Kand mounted upon the latter is a second plate N which is held in anadjustable position by means of the bolts K passing through slots formedtransversely in the plate N. One edge of the plate N is angular and theother, which is adjacent to the cutting edge of the knife E, is straightand disposed at an inclination to the cutting edge of said blade orknife Adjustably mounted upon the upper sur face of the flange of thelong arm of the curved angle bar F is a short cutting blade S, having acutting edge S upon one edge which is longer than a similar cutting edgeT upon the opposite edge. The cutting blade S is held in place upon thebar F by means of a clamp S which is held to the bar by means of a boltW passing through the bar and, when drawn tight by means of a nut uponthe threaded end of the bolt, will serve to hold the clamp frictionallyagainst It will be noted-upon reference to Fig. 3 I of the drawings thatthe cutting edge T is.

at an angle to the cutting edge S and when the blade is reversed fromthe position shown in Fig. 1, the angled edge T will be positioned at anobtuse angle to the cutting edge E and which will allow more space hetween the cutting edge T and the rear end of the recess intermediate thetwo angle bars upon which the cutting knives are mounted, it this extraspace being desirable where the stalks in a row are unusually thick andnumerous, it necessarily requiring more rooml for their reception.

to the table.

conforms in shape thereto and extends a:

slight distance over the table. A curved, rod P is fastened at one endto the long arm 1 of the angle bar D and extends overthe;

space intervening between the knives and is provided for the purpose ofthrowing the heads of corn laterally upon the table afterf having beencut by the knives. The curve of the rod 1s such as to cause the head,after 9 being severed, to be thrown laterally on thel table.

Fastened to the two braces is a member M which is pivotally connected tothe anglelever M through the medium of the link M said lever serving asmeans for holding the table at different elevations, as may be desired.Fastened to the inner marginal edge of the long arm of the angle bar Dand to the corresponding end of the long arm of the angle bar F are theoutwardly curved rods. X which serve to cause the stalks of corn to bedeflected toward each other and into the space intermediate the knivesas the machine moves over a field.

The operation of my invention is as follows :The apparatus is adapted tobe fastened in any suitable manner to a wagon boX and the table andcutting knives adjusted at proper elevation with the space between thecutting knives so positioned as to receive a row of stalks, the tops ofwhich are to be cut by the apparatus. As the knives draw against thestalks adjacent to the tops thereof, they will be severed and caused tobe thrown over upon the table by the curved arm which is fastened to theangle bar D and rolling down the inclined table will be caught in thebox of the wagon to which the apparatus is fastened.

What I claim to be new is 1. An apparatus for heading Kafir corncomprising a table, two aperturedangle bars fastened thereto and spacedapart, angled bracket members fastened to the table and adapted forvertical adjustment, one of which passes through registering aperturesin the angle bars, braces fastened to said angled bracket members, oneof which braces is secured to one of the angle bars and has its upperend secured to the under face 5 of one of said bracket members, andblades Fastened to the forward end of the long arm of the curved anglebar F is a deflecting lshield L which has an upright portion which 1curves over the table and is downwardly inclined with its free endpositioned adjacentE mounted upon the angle bars, as set forth.

2. An apparatus for heading Kafir corn comprising a table, two aperturedangle bars fastened thereto and spaced apart, angled bracket membersfastened to the table and adapted for vertical adjustment, one

A guard, designated by letter V, is fasfi tened to the upright flange ofthe angle bar 1 D about the outer and rear edge thereof and 1 of whichpasses through registering apertures in the angle bars, braces fastenedto said angled bracket members, one of which braces is secured. to oneof the angle bars and has its upper end secured to the under face of oneof said bracket members, and adjustable blades fastened one to each ofsaid angle bars, as set forth.

3. An apparatus for heading Kafir corn comprising a table, an inner andan outer angle bar fastened thereto and spaced apart, angled bracketmembers fastened to the table and adapted for vertical adjustment, oneof which passes through registering apertures in the angle bars, bracesfastened to said angled bracket mlembers, one of which braces is securedto one of the angle bars and has its upper end secured to the under faceof one of said bracket members, a cutting blade adjustably mounted uponthe outer of said angle bars, plates adjustably fastened to the inner ofsaid angle bars and of different lengths and spaced apart, adouble-edged cutting knife with cutting .edges at angles to each other,and means for clamping the same intermediate one of said plates and saidinner angle bar, as set forth. In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix mysignature in the presence of two witnesses. THOMAS H. SPARKS.

Witnesses A, L. HOUGH, A. R. FOWLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D.

